高管入職前 需要好好考察新公司

Even the boss has to worry about fitting in at a new workplace.

即便是當老闆的，也需要擔心自己是不是適合新的公司。

Jack Griffin, who started Monday as chief executive of Tribune Co.'s newspaper publishing division, expects to get along better than he did at his last corporate position. He was fired in February 2011 after less than six months as CEO of Time Inc., where he aggressively pressed for change. His leadership style 'did not mesh' with the Time Warner Inc. unit, the company said then.

傑克·格里芬(Jack Griffin)4月14日開始擔任論壇報業集團(Tribune Co.)報紙出版部門的首席執行長，他希望新的工作比他在上一家公司任職的時候順利一些。格里芬曾在時代華納公司(Time Warner Inc.)旗下的時代公司(Time Inc.)擔任首席執行長不到半年時間，於2011年2月被解僱。任職期間他曾積極推動改革。時代公司在解聘格里芬的時候說，他的領導風格跟公司不合拍。

Paving the way for his new role, Mr. Griffin and colleagues at his publishing-industry consultancy have for the past year advised Tribune about the strategic, operational and organizational issues it faces. After deciding to spin off its newspaper division, the company chose him to lead the unit because he offered 'vision and expertise,' Tribune said.

過去一年，格里芬以及他所在出版業諮詢機構的同事爲論壇報業集團提供有關其戰略、運營和組織問題的諮詢服務，爲他的新職位鋪就了道路。在決定分拆報紙部門之後，論壇報業集團選擇格里芬來領導這個部門。論壇報業集團說，這是因爲他帶來了“遠見和專長”。

For Mr. Griffin, joining Tribune 'was the right thing and a good fit,' said a person familiar with his thinking.

據瞭解格里芬想法的一位人士說，加入論壇報業集團對他而言“是正確之舉，很合適”。

A poor cultural fit is the primary reason top managers fail, according to executive coaches and recruiters. But there is no perfect way to predict a match. So in addition to the traditional rounds of interviews, networking with prior staffers and review of analysts' reports, senior-management applicants are now being urged to play the role of corporate anthropologist to gauge their compatibility with potential employers -- from quizzing future subordinates to dining repeatedly with the boss-to-be.

據高管培訓師和獵頭說，文化不合拍是高管入職後以失敗收場的首要原因。但也沒有完美的辦法來預測雙方是否合拍。所以除了傳統的多輪面試、同這家公司的員工建立社交網絡、查看分析師報告之外，高管職位候選人現在還需要扮演公司文化人類學家的角色，以判斷自己與潛在僱主是否相容——比如詢問未來的下屬，跟未來老闆多次一起吃飯等。

'Most executive hires that don't work out are due to inadequate diligence by the recruit and employer,' said Joanna Starek, a senior partner at RHR International LLP, a leadership-development firm. 'The costs for getting that wrong are incredibly high.'

領導力開發公司RHR International LLP的高級合夥人喬安娜·斯塔雷克(Joanna Starek)說：“新聘高管混不開，大都是因爲新人和僱主的功課做得不夠。這方面出錯，代價高得驚人。”

Just ask Yahoo Inc.

問問雅虎(Yahoo Inc.)就知道了。

Henrique de Castro lost his job in January -- and got an enormous golden parachute -- after just a year as chief operating officer of Yahoo, where he reportedly clashed with CEO Marissa Mayer. 'Ultimately, Henrique was not a fit,' declared Ms. Mayer following his dismissal.

恩裏克·德·卡斯特羅(Henrique de Castro)在雅虎才當了一年的首席運營長，就在今年1月份丟掉了工作——同時得到了一個巨大的“金色降落傘”。據傳他在雅虎曾跟首席執行長瑪麗莎·梅耶爾(Marissa Mayer)發生衝突。梅耶爾在德·卡斯特羅被解僱之後說：“歸根結底，恩裏克不合適。”

Mr. de Castro -- who was hired from Google Inc., where Ms. Mayer previously worked -- walked away with about $109 million in compensation, including his salary, hiring bonus and a severance package worth more than $64 million, according to the estimate of executive pay researcher Equilar.

德·卡斯特羅是雅虎從谷歌(Google Inc.)挖過去的，而梅耶爾也在谷歌工作過。據高管薪酬研究機構Equilar 估計，德·卡斯特羅在離開雅虎的時候獲得了大約1.09億美元的補償，包括他的工資、入職獎金和一套價值6,400萬美元以上的解聘補償方案。

Mr. de Castro couldn't be reached for comment.

本報未能聯繫到德·卡斯特羅置評。

Amid an improved job market, more executives appear poised to jump ship. About 56% of executives are considering an exit within 12 months, up from 45% in 2013, concludes a 2014 survey by ExecuNet, a business and career network.

隨着就業市場的改善，越來越多的高管似乎做好了跳槽的打算。商務與職業社交網站 ExecuNet在2014年的一項調查顯示，約56%的高管考慮12個月內離職，高於2013年45%的比例。

They would be well advised to look harder before they leap, leadership specialists say.

領導力專家說，強烈建議他們在跳槽之前進一步觀察。

Mr. Griffin assumed he had a mandate to change Time, he told Crain's Chicago Business after his ouster. The parent company's lack of interest in dramatic changes 'was a disconnect from the beginning,' a senior Time Warner executive has said.

格里芬在被解聘之後對《克瑞恩芝加哥商業報》(Crain's Chicago Business)說，他以爲自己肩負着改革時代公司的使命。時代華納的一名高管曾說，母公司對激進改革缺乏興趣，“一開始就是一種割裂”。

Employers rarely give executive applicants access to their likely subordinates. Mr. Griffin, for instance, spoke with only a few Time staffers during its highly confidential search -- partly because he worked for rival magazine publisher Meredith Corp., according to the informed individual.

僱主很少讓高管職位候選人接觸到可能成爲他們下屬的人。比如在時代公司高度機密的招聘過程中，格里芬只跟少數時代員工談過話。據那位知情人士說，這在一定程度上是因爲他曾在競爭對手梅雷迪思公司(Meredith Corp.)工作過。

Raleigh Mayer, an executive coach, suggests that her clients arrive early for a management job interview and 'look for every possible clue as to their culture,' she said. 'Do people say hello in the bathroom? Is there interesting art on the walls?'

高管培訓師羅莉·邁耶(Raleigh Mayer)建議客戶在參加管理崗位面試的時候提前一點到達，“留意能幫你解讀該公司文化的任何蛛絲馬跡。大家在洗手間打招呼嗎？ 上有沒有什麼有意思的藝術品？”

A cutting-edge art collection may demonstrate that a business encourages innovation, said Michael J. Anderson, head of leadership advisory services for recruiters Spencer Stuart. On the other hand, 'the founder might just like art,' he continued. 'Don't overread the artifacts.'

獵頭公司 Spencer Stuart領導力顧問部門負責人邁克爾·安德森(Michael J. Anderson)說，前衛的藝術藏品也許表明該企業鼓勵創新。他還表示，另一方面，“可能只是創始人喜歡藝術品。不要對藝術品做過多解讀”。

Try to get some face time outside the office, where 'people tend to let their guard down' said Stacey Lauren Musi, a managing director at recruiters Chadick Ellig Inc. 'If they are barking at the maitre d', that would tell you something about their management style.''

獵頭公司Chadick Ellig Inc.的執行董事斯泰西·勞倫·穆西(Stacey Lauren Musi)說，要想辦法與未來的同事在辦公室以外見幾次面，因爲在辦公室外“人們往往會放下戒備，如果他們朝着主管大喊大叫，那就能在一定程度上告訴你他們的管理風格是什麼樣的”。

Spencer Stuart's Mr. Anderson once agreed to be interviewed by the wife of a prospective executive so she could decide whether he would be a good boss for her spouse. The creative gambit impressed Mr. Anderson. But for unrelated reasons, he didn't hire the candidate.

Spencer Stuart的安德森曾經同意和一名潛在高管的妻子面談，這樣她就可以確定他會不會成爲丈夫的好老闆。這個創造性的策略給安德森留下了很深的印象。但出於別的原因，他沒有聘請那名求職者。

The finance chief of a high-tech company had several dinners with the CEO -- and even accompanied him on a trip to its San Francisco office -- before accepting the job in 2012.

一家高科技公司的財務負責人在入職前曾多次跟首席執行長一塊吃飯，甚至還陪同他去了公司的舊金山辦事處，然後纔在2012年接受了這個職位。

'Executives have to understand [personal] values before they can know whether there will be a match with the company they are going into,' said Jeff Chartier, chief human resources officer of Sig Sauer Inc., a maker of small weapons.

輕型武器製造商Sig Sauer Inc.的首席人力資源長傑夫·沙爾捷(Jeff Chartier)說：“高管需要在理解這家公司一些人員的個人價值觀之後才能知道自己是否適合打算要進入的公司。”

Mr. Chartier took his own advice ahead of taking the newly created role in June 2012. 'I valued an atmosphere where honesty, candor and a willingness to entertain and try new ideas would exist,' he recalled.

沙爾捷在2012年6月份接受這個新設職位之前遵從了自己的這個建議。他回憶說：“我看重的是一種誠實、坦率、願意接納和嘗試新想法的氛圍。”

Before taking the job, he sought candid chats with eight of the CEO's 12 lieutenants and four managers who would report to Mr. Chartier. The face-to-face sessions uncovered internal discord. His potential peers complained that the company didn't attract enough top-quality talent, he said. Yet the HR managers 'thought they were doing a good job.'

在接受這個崗位之間，他主動跟首席執行長12名副手中的八位、以及將會向自己報告的四名管理人員進行了坦誠的交談。這些面對面的會談揭示了公司的內部矛盾。他說，潛在同事們抱怨公司沒有招到足夠數量的優質人才，但HR管理人員“覺得自己的工作做得不錯”。

Mr. Chartier wasn't turned off. In fact, he said he liked that 'there was no trying to hide anything' at Sig Sauer. Plus, 'I love a challenge,' he added.

沙爾捷沒有退卻。他說，事實上他喜歡 Sig Sauer公司“不想掩蓋任何事情”這一點。他說，而且“我喜歡挑戰”。